Fill in the blanks.
1"I like oranges," she said. She said that she ............... oranges.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the simple present usually changes to the simple past, so "liked" is correct.
2"I am working on a new project," he said. He said that he ............... on a new project.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the present continuous changes to the past continuous, so "was working" is correct.
3"We have been waiting for you," she said. She said that they ............... for me.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the present perfect continuous changes to the past perfect continuous, so "had been waiting" is correct.
4"I have passed the test," she said. She said that ............... had passed the test.
Wrong!
The speaker is female, so the reported subject is "she".
5"I sent the money yesterday," he said. He said that he ............... the money the previous day.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the simple past usually changes to the past perfect, so "had sent" is correct.
6"John was waiting for you," he told me. He told me that John ............... for me.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
The past continuous may stay the same or backshift in reported speech, so "was waiting" and "had been waiting" are correct.
7"My father will come tomorrow," he said. He said that his father ............... the following day.
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, "will come" changes to "would come".
8"I am not going to do it," he says. He says that he ............... to do it.
Wrong!
Because the reporting verb is present simple, the original tense stays the same, so "is not going" is correct.
9"They haven't arrived yet," he said. He ............... that they hadn't arrived yet.
Wrong!
"Told" needs a personal object (told me) and "asked" reports questions, so "complained" is the only verb that fits; it reports the statement as an expression of dissatisfaction.
10"What are you doing in my room?" she asked. She asked what ............... in her room.
Wrong!
Reported questions use statement word order, so "I was doing" is correct.
11"Do you know her?" he asked me. He asked me ............... I knew her.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
A reported yes/no question can use "if" or "whether".
12"This is not what we expected," they said. They said that that was not what ...............
Wrong!
After a past reporting verb, the simple past usually changes to the past perfect, so "they had expected" is correct.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- “I like oranges,” she said. She said that she liked oranges.
- “I am working on a new project,” he said. He said that he was working on a new project.
- “We have been waiting for you,” she said. She said that they had been waiting for me.
- “I have passed the test,” she said. She said that she had passed the test.
- “I sent the money yesterday,” he said. He said that he had sent the money the previous day.
- “John was waiting for you,” he told me. He told me that John was waiting / had been waiting for me.
- “My father will come tomorrow,” he said. He said that his father would come the following day.
- “I am not going to do it,” he says. He says that he is not going to do it.
- “They haven’t arrived yet,” he said. He complained that they hadn’t arrived yet.
- “What are you doing in my room?” she asked. She asked what I was doing in her room.
- “Do you know her?” he asked me. He asked me if / whether I knew her.
- “This is not what we expected,” they said. They said that that was not what they had expected